GREATEST EVOLUTION OF F1 | Tudo sobre fórmula u

MAJOR F1 DEVELOPMENTS:

1) Rear Engine (Late 1950s Cooper):

The change from front engine to rear engine improved traction in cars (when accelerating, the rear is pressed down, while the front is lifted, so rear-wheel drive improved power transmission to the tires), brought the possibility of lowering the pilot's position in the cockpit, improved aerodynamics, changed the dynamics and mechanics of the cars. Cooper cars and English constructors in the late 50's represented this new concept well and were champions in 1959 and 1960.

2) Monocoque chassis (Lotus 1962):

The monocoque chassis was a revolution in F1 at the time, due to its simplicity, rigidity and low weight. The monocoque was a structure that supported the engine, transmission, suspension and driver's cabin, and allowed the cars to be agile and more balanced in curves. The design came from BRM two years earlier, but the first in F1 was the Lotus 25, which in the hands of Jim Clark became a super-winning car in F1 in the following years. Design was done by Colin Chapman.

3) Airfoils (Ferrari and Lotus 1968):

They say that in 1956 the Swiss Michael May put a spoiler on his Porsche 500 Spyder (Source Jornal O Globo 27/03/202 pg 3).

But in F1 the introduction of airfoils began in 1968, with that the car's adjustments completely changed and the driver started to have a fundamental role in the adjustment and development of the car. The differences to the pre-airfoils ERA are so great that experts divide F1 into two eras: from 1950 to 1967 (without spoilers) and from 1968 onwards (with spoilers). In the 70's, the "right" drivers (Stewart, Fittipaldi and Lauda) overcame the extremely fast drivers (Peterson, Hunt, Scheckter, etc.) team's.

4) Radiators on the sides of the car (Lotus 1970):

The installation of radiators on the sides began in 1967 at the Indy 500 with the STP-Paxton model and the following year the Lotus 56 TURBINA also came to the Indy 500, in a project by Colin Chapman and its designer Maurice Philippe.

But in F1 the introduction of radiators on the sides began in the Lotus 72, precisely derived from the Indy car model. The advantage of placing the radiators on the sides of the car, close to the engine, was to increase the cooling speed, as the water path would be shorter, which could reduce the size of the hoses and the weight of the car, and would also improve the front aerodynamics that left free space without the radiator. This car was a success in 1970, it won 4 races in a row, being champion with Jochen Rindt. The famous Lotus 72 served as a reference for other teams' projects in the following years.

THANKS TO COLLEAGUE EDUARDO PASSINI from Piracicaba (SP), for raising the need to include this innovation on this page of my website.

5) Sidepods with aerodynamic effect (March 1970 and 1971)

In 1970, the small March team innovated by creating sidepods with an aerodynamic effect. Then in 1971, March placed the radiators inside the sidepods, imitating the solution made in the Lotus 72 a year earlier, and with these evolutions the little March managed to make Ronnie Peterson vice-world champion in 1971, in front of big teams like Lotus, Ferrari, Brabham and BRM. Its main importance was to better direct the airflow towards the rear of the car.

March 1970 (March 701)

An easy-to-contextual example of the importance of the sidepod happened in 2022, with the reintroduction of SOLO EFFECT. The sidepod works in conjunction with the spoilers to manage airflow OVER the car, while the floor manages airflow UNDERNEATH. It is a very complicated process that depends on several aerodynamic and mechanical variables (suspension setting), so that the car has the appropriate downward force for the tires to enter the correct "working window" and without generating "porpoising". Whoever masters this process, dominates the GROUND EFFECT in F1.

We can see the types with air flows: "Down Wash" and "In Wash", used respectively by Red Bull and Ferrari.

In 2022, Adrian Newey used DOWN WASH, that is, part of the airflow is directed outside the car and another part is directed to the underside of the rear spoiler. (Image reproduced from CANAL AUTOMOBILISM BRASIL).

In 2022, Ferrari designers used IN WASH, that is, the air flow is directed into the car towards the lower part of the rear of the car. (Image reproduced from Canal AUTOMOBILISM BRASIL)

OBS: Explanatory video on the subject from Canal Automobilismo Brasil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKrt5uvPWCQ

6) Turbos (Renault 1977)

Many team bosses scoffed in 1977, but the introduction of turbos saw F1 enter the ERA of engines with virtually unlimited power. The power was so enormous that in the mid-80s, drivers could not give 100% throttle on corner exits.

The most difficult time in terms of driving F1 cars was between 1985 and 1986, as the engines reached close to 1400 HP without electronic power management, with gearshift on the dashboard, clutch on the foot, without speed limiter, without lights on the panel to indicate gear changing, without Traction Control or Launch Control.

In 1984, Niki Lauda said: "Without a doubt they are (the cars) faster, they require more attentive driving. They are much more difficult to drive." (Niki Lauda, FS Yearbook 1984 pg 23 and 24)

7) Wing and Ground Effect Cars (Lotus 1978):

Although the 1978 Lotus (Lotus 79) was the first wing car, the basic concept started with the 1970 March and 1975 Brabham which already did "partial ground effect" through sidepodswhich generated about 75 kgf (FS Yearbook 1992 pg 44).

In 1978, Colin Chapman and his engineer Peter Wright revolutionized F1 when the Lotus 79 began using the car's FLOOR in the form of an inverted wing beneath the sidepods. This made the air pass faster and with less upward pressure at the bottom of the car, generating around 70% of the car's downforce (2270 kgf, Yearbook FS 1992 pg 46). As incredible as it may seem, the team that most dominated the SOLO EFFECT that year, but it was not Lotus but Patrick Head's Williams team that built good cars in 1979-1980-1981-1982 based on this concept.

There was still another innovation, which were mini side skirts to prevent the diagonal and lateral flow of air from entering under the side of the car. The cars were very fast and dangerous and in 1983 the wing car was banned from F1, only to return in 2022.

Watch Canal Automobilismo Brasil video on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKq_40ZBrKY&t=828s

Lotus 1978 (Lotus 79)

8) Carbon fiber chassis (McLaren 1981):

Carbon fiber cars have brought another major evolution to F1, as they are extremely light and have high impact resistance. The low weight helped the car's performance in races, as a result of which gasoline consumption and tire consumption were also reduced. Precisely in 1982 and 1983, McLaren did several recovery races even without having a powerful engine, they even won starting from 22nd place on the grid (USA I/1983), because their car was lighter than those of their rivals and did well in the races. Weight is everything in this sport, the MP 4/1 design was designed by John Barnard.

9) Pit Stop in F1 (Some teams from the 1950s and Brabham in 1982):

In the 1950s some teams were already stopping to refuel, but it was out of necessity. One of the first memorable victories with a refueling pit stop in F1 was Fangio in the Maserati team in the 1957 German GP, a race considered the greatest victory for a driver in F1 history. Maserati did not have enough tank capacity to complete the race, so it had to make a stop. That day Fangio ran so fast in the race that he beat the time he had set in training by 13 seconds, closed the gap of 45 seconds to the Ferraris, overtook them both and won the race.

In 1982, Gordon Murray, watching the Indianapolis 500, noticed that cars with an empty tank, even with used tires, went much faster than with a full tank and new tires. So Murray and Piquet decided to test the return of the pit stop in F1 (stopping to refuel and change tires). The objective was to start lighter, open up a gap, make the pit stop, get ahead of the competitors and win the race. The first pit stop made as a test at that time was with Ricardo Patrese at the 1982 Dutch GP and then done for real at the Austrian GP 82 with Piquet and Patrese. F1 would never be the same after that...

10) Tire warm-up (Brabham 1983 and Lotus 1984):

The concern with heating slick tires is old in F1, in the 70's Teddy Meyer of McLaren already had tires placed in boxes wrapped in blankets, to keep them warmer than the ambient temperature.

In 1978 Nelson Piquet nBritish F3 had a GENIUS IDEA. Before the starts, he asked to put his car under a tent with a stove to warm the tires. This "artifice" gave him an advantage on the first lap of the tire, with which he won 13 races and was easily champion.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akyxR6cq58g (CANAL PELAS PISTAS)

In 1982, Gordon Murray proposed making pit stops in races, and Piquet suggested the idea he had used in English F3 in 1978, which consisted of pre-warming tires. Between 1982 and 1983, with Piquet's idea, Murray designed a cabinet with hot gas to heat the tires (see Gordon Murray's drawing below). This was the first device to heat tires in F1, which was not yet the electric tire blanket, but it was essential for Piquet to win the 1983 championship.

Source: Canal Enerto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=direBJ37nhQ

Explanatory drawing by Gordon Murray reproduced from the video by Canal Automobilismo Brasil.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0U4NPrxTT4A and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0U4NPrxTT4&t=1195s (at 22 minutes)

Very few people know, but in 1984 the definitive evolution of the tire warming cabinet created by Gordon Murray based on Piquet's idea emerged, at the GP Europe 84 the Lotus team introduced the ELECTRIC TIRE BLANKET, which today is a device plugged into the socket that is widely used in F1. The English team kept the device hidden and no team even suspected its existence. Only from 1985 onwards did the electric blanket start to be used by other F1 teams.

11) Butterfly Shift (Ferrari 1989):

The butterfly gearbox brought four advantages over the conventional gearbox:

- No need to actuate the clutch with the foot,

- Being able to change gears without taking your hands off the steering wheel and without taking your foot off the accelerator,

- If the pilot misses the gear, the electronics of the exchange does not let it enter, thus avoiding its breakage,

- Improve the aerodynamics of the car, as the front part of the cockpit has become narrower.

In 1988 Roberto Moreno carried out all the tests and in 1989 Ferrari won its first race in the Brazilian GP with this gearbox. In 1990, this type of gearbox was fundamental for Ferrari to face McLaren on equal terms. It is estimated that the gain is close to 1 second per lap compared to manual transmission (Moreno said this in an interview in 1995), not only because of the speed of gear changes, but also because of the lower aerodynamic drag generated by the narrower cockpit. . John Barnard was the chief designer of the 1989 Ferrari.

12) Tall Beaks (Tyrrell 1990):

In the 90s, aerodynamics started to play a fundamental role in cars, but in fact it all started with the Toleman 85 (Rory Byrne) and the March 88 (Adrian Newey) that had their cars with the underside of the nose raised. Years later came the Tyrrell 90 (Harvey Postlethwaite and Jean Claude Migeot), the Jordan 91 and the Benetton 91 that brought more radical changes with the "high nose" concept. This type of nozzle had the function of making the frontal air pass with greater speed and less vertical pressure under the car, in order to stick the car to the ground. The Benetton team was the first world champion with this beak in 94 and in 95 practically all the teams started using the high beak. Ferrari even had doubts about the effectiveness of this nose and tested the car with the nose high and with the nose low in Maranello, with the nose high it ran about 0.3s faster. A simple nozzle would make such a difference in aerodynamics. F1 would never be the same again.

13) Advanced electronics in car control (Williams 1992 and 1993):

The Williams 92/93 was the pinnacle of electronics in F1. There were dozens of devices that helped driving, among them: fly by wire control, electronic differential, CT, CL, ABS brakes, 4 directional wheels (4WS), automatic butterfly transmission (computer changed gears in reductions and accelerations without the pilot's command ) and active suspension, power-assisted braking and steering (to make life easier for the rider). The advantage of active suspension was to change the car's center of gravity when cornering, and with that the car could develop higher speeds, without using an airfoil.

OBS: The Williams 93 was still tested with CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) and ran 1s faster than the same Williams without this equipment, but the FIA prohibited using it, otherwise the massacre would be even greater.

NOTE: The active suspension was used for the first time by Lotus in 1983, but far from the performance of the active suspensions of the 90s.

14) Asymmetrical Brakes (McLaren 1997 and 1998):

In late 1997, the McLaren team created asymmetrical brakes using a 2nd brake pedal. The system consisted of braking more of the rear wheel inside the curve, minimizing "oversteer", helping the car to get around the curves faster. In 1998, the FIA discovered the 2nd brake pedal and did not allow McLaren to use the device anymore from the GP Brasil onwards (Anuário Francisco Santos 1998 pg 29 and 65).

In fact, the regulations had nothing prohibiting the system, but as McLaren started the year much better than all the other teams, it seems that the FIA played those well-known political games to try to balance the championship and this helped to shorten the gap to Ferrari in the end of the year. So much so, that only in the 2nd half of 2024 did the FIA place an item in the regulations prohibiting this type of brake.

14) Blown diffuser with special engine mapping (Red Bull 2011):

In 1983 Renault started to use the exhaust directed to the rear diffuser and all the teams started to use it in the following years as well. (Source: Formula Brumnh Channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiaNrHYjQ3w)

In the mid-80s, Adrian Newey was at F Indy and improved this idea, starting to use the exhaust gases that were directed to the sides of the car's Rear Diffuser to "shield" it from the turbulence generated by the tires. (Sourcee: Canal Driver 61 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ1cOyMDD-g) In the late 1980s, he brought this idea to F1 at March and then in the following decades it took to Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.

IIn 2011, Adrian Newey performed another "upgrade" on the Blown Diffuser, when he changed the engine mapping to push the exhaust gases to the diffuser, even if the driver took his foot off the accelerator when cornering.

NOTE: The Double Diffuser was introduced by Brawn in 2009. The FIA banned the Double Diffuser in 2011, the special engine mapping from the 2011 British GP, and banned the Blown Diffuser in 2012.

15) Aerodynamic Ducts (McLaren 2010 and Mercedes 2012):

In 2010, McLaren created the Aerodynamic Duct (F-duct) that threw air from the top of the car's nose to the rear wing to make it bend (stall) and reduce aerodynamic drag on the straights. The device was activated when the pilot squeezed the side of the cockpit with his hand.

In 2012, Mercedes took McLaren's idea, modified it and created the reverse Aerodynamic Duct (called double DRS). It took the air from the car's open DRS and made it return to the front wing, to flex it (stall it) and thus reduce the aerodynamic drag at the front of the car. Unfortunately, both devices were banned by the FIA.